1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:07,000 Well, good morning, Munster. 2 00:00:07,000 --> 00:00:20,640 I preach at a lot of different churches, and I don't know if you've ever seen the scenes 3 00:00:20,640 --> 00:00:27,520 where the guy who performs in all the cities, he gets up and he says, okay, Oakland, and 4 00:00:27,520 --> 00:00:29,640 it's like the wrong city. 5 00:00:29,640 --> 00:00:34,520 That's like one of my fears, but it hasn't happened yet. 6 00:00:34,520 --> 00:00:37,840 So my sermon today is going to be titled The Garden of Wheaton, and it's going to come 7 00:00:37,840 --> 00:00:42,320 from John chapter four, verses 31 to 45. 8 00:00:42,320 --> 00:00:47,080 So if you're able, and if you would, would you please stand as we read God's word? 9 00:00:47,080 --> 00:00:52,640 This is coming from John chapter four, verses 31 to 45. 10 00:00:52,640 --> 00:00:58,520 I am reading from the elect standard version. 11 00:00:58,520 --> 00:01:03,000 The ESV, elect standard English. 12 00:01:03,000 --> 00:01:04,880 You see what I did there? 13 00:01:04,880 --> 00:01:05,880 See it? 14 00:01:05,880 --> 00:01:06,880 Okay. 15 00:01:06,880 --> 00:01:13,160 John chapter four, verses 31 to 45. 16 00:01:13,160 --> 00:01:21,200 Meanwhile, the disciples were urging him saying, Rabbi, eat. 17 00:01:21,200 --> 00:01:28,800 But he said to them, I have food to eat that you do not know about. 18 00:01:28,800 --> 00:01:33,880 So the disciples said to one another, has anyone brought him something to eat? 19 00:01:33,880 --> 00:01:41,800 Jesus said to them, my food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work. 20 00:01:41,800 --> 00:01:47,080 Do not you say there are yet four months, then comes the harvest? 21 00:01:47,080 --> 00:01:57,360 Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes and see that the fields are white for harvest. 22 00:01:57,360 --> 00:02:03,120 Already the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life so that 23 00:02:03,120 --> 00:02:08,800 the sower and reaper may rejoice together. 24 00:02:08,800 --> 00:02:11,000 For here the saying holds true. 25 00:02:11,000 --> 00:02:13,880 One sows and another reaps. 26 00:02:13,880 --> 00:02:20,160 I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. 27 00:02:20,160 --> 00:02:25,520 Others have labored and you have entered into their labor. 28 00:02:25,520 --> 00:02:30,220 Many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman's testimony. 29 00:02:30,220 --> 00:02:33,300 He told me all that I ever did. 30 00:02:33,300 --> 00:02:38,240 So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them and he stayed there 31 00:02:38,240 --> 00:02:39,680 two days. 32 00:02:39,680 --> 00:02:43,420 And many more believed because of his word. 33 00:02:43,420 --> 00:02:48,200 They said to the woman, it is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have 34 00:02:48,200 --> 00:02:56,560 heard for ourselves and we know that this indeed is the savior of the world. 35 00:02:56,560 --> 00:03:02,260 After the two days, he departed from Galilee for Jesus himself had testified that a prophet 36 00:03:02,260 --> 00:03:04,900 has no honor in his own hometown. 37 00:03:04,900 --> 00:03:10,440 So when he came to Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him having seen all that he had done 38 00:03:10,440 --> 00:03:16,600 in Jerusalem at the feast for they too had gone to the feast. 39 00:03:16,600 --> 00:03:23,480 Now in my stuffy Presbyterian church tradition, after I read the scriptures, I normally say, 40 00:03:23,480 --> 00:03:26,320 this is the word of the Lord. 41 00:03:26,320 --> 00:03:27,400 Thanks be to God. 42 00:03:27,400 --> 00:03:34,400 You may be seated. 43 00:03:34,400 --> 00:03:50,360 So the concept of farm to table is foreign in most people's mind, especially in the younger 44 00:03:50,360 --> 00:03:52,880 generations, including mine. 45 00:03:52,880 --> 00:03:58,160 And most people think that food originates in the grocery store, but this just isn't 46 00:03:58,160 --> 00:03:59,480 the case. 47 00:03:59,480 --> 00:04:08,440 The food that you and I eat comes from farmers who labor nonstop seeking people to worship 48 00:04:08,440 --> 00:04:09,440 God. 49 00:04:09,440 --> 00:04:17,520 Most of you are probably saying, wait a minute, he didn't say that right. 50 00:04:17,520 --> 00:04:23,400 Actually I did because the food the gardener is looking for is the fruit of regenerated 51 00:04:23,400 --> 00:04:30,760 Christians who by faith sow and reap what you and I see on the shelves at the grocery 52 00:04:30,760 --> 00:04:31,760 store. 53 00:04:31,760 --> 00:04:37,200 Wait a minute, he misspoke again. 54 00:04:37,200 --> 00:04:41,960 People get your mind off of food for Christ's sake. 55 00:04:41,960 --> 00:04:44,680 I'm trying to talk to you all about the gardener. 56 00:04:44,680 --> 00:04:51,000 I'm going to do this in two points, namely the gardener's function and the gardener's 57 00:04:51,000 --> 00:04:52,000 fruit. 58 00:04:52,000 --> 00:04:57,000 So I've entitled this sermon, the Garden of Weedon, and this is a play on the words from 59 00:04:57,000 --> 00:05:00,000 the original Garden of Eden. 60 00:05:00,000 --> 00:05:06,560 So prior to Adam and Eve sin, God placed the man and the woman that he created in his garden. 61 00:05:06,560 --> 00:05:14,120 He blessed them and told them to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and to have 62 00:05:14,120 --> 00:05:17,120 dominion over it. 63 00:05:17,120 --> 00:05:26,080 See, God was the gardener and Adam and Eve were the fruit of his garden. 64 00:05:26,080 --> 00:05:31,440 And when the fruit rebelled against the gardener, the gardener plucked up and kicked out his 65 00:05:31,440 --> 00:05:39,000 fruit from the garden and told his fruit, cursed is the ground because of you. 66 00:05:39,000 --> 00:05:42,480 In pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life. 67 00:05:42,480 --> 00:05:46,100 Thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you. 68 00:05:46,100 --> 00:05:48,880 You shall eat the plants of the field. 69 00:05:48,880 --> 00:05:54,840 By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground for out of it 70 00:05:54,840 --> 00:05:56,920 you were taken. 71 00:05:56,920 --> 00:06:04,160 For you are dust and to dust you shall return. 72 00:06:04,160 --> 00:06:11,080 See the fruit's sin and rebellion against the gardener didn't stop the gardener from 73 00:06:11,080 --> 00:06:13,200 gardening. 74 00:06:13,200 --> 00:06:18,520 It's just that gardening post Eden would no longer be effortless. 75 00:06:18,520 --> 00:06:22,280 It would be laborious. 76 00:06:22,280 --> 00:06:24,700 No more garden of Eden. 77 00:06:24,700 --> 00:06:29,280 Now it's the garden of Weeden. 78 00:06:29,280 --> 00:06:34,000 Now by way of background in verse four, chapter four, we learned that Jesus, wearied as he 79 00:06:34,000 --> 00:06:42,080 was from his journey from Judea to Galilee, he was in Samaria sitting beside the well. 80 00:06:42,080 --> 00:06:47,120 Jesus' disciples then leave to go get him some food and they were probably thinking 81 00:06:47,120 --> 00:06:52,400 to themselves, well he won't go thirsty because he's right next to a well, let's go get him 82 00:06:52,400 --> 00:06:55,200 some food. 83 00:06:55,200 --> 00:07:02,280 Then Jesus on a Tuesday afternoon on site near Jacob's well, he decided to host a podcast 84 00:07:02,280 --> 00:07:10,800 with, you know, amongst all the Jews hostile people groups, his guest is a Samaritan woman. 85 00:07:10,800 --> 00:07:17,440 And to the Samaritan woman, he first reveals that he is the Messiah who has come to save 86 00:07:17,440 --> 00:07:19,240 the world. 87 00:07:19,240 --> 00:07:23,080 For a first century rabbi, this is career suicide. 88 00:07:23,080 --> 00:07:28,960 But ladies and gentlemen, the first principle here, and I've got seven principles, the first 89 00:07:28,960 --> 00:07:38,180 principle here is that endangering your reputation for the gospel's sake is a part of gardening 90 00:07:38,180 --> 00:07:41,440 in the Garden of Wheaton. 91 00:07:41,440 --> 00:07:45,480 Let me tell you why this move by Jesus was career suicide. 92 00:07:45,480 --> 00:07:51,880 First, the Jews didn't associate with the Samaritans because a long standing family 93 00:07:51,880 --> 00:07:58,780 feud between God and the Jews that left them exiled from Israel in foreign lands. 94 00:07:58,780 --> 00:08:05,200 Now in their exile, the Jews intermarried with the nations and the product was half 95 00:08:05,200 --> 00:08:15,240 breeds, half Jew, half Gentile, which in the Jews eyes was a whole mess to be avoided. 96 00:08:15,240 --> 00:08:21,520 Secondly, rabbis didn't openly associate with women in public. 97 00:08:21,520 --> 00:08:26,720 One source said that the sages warned that it's better to stay away from women. 98 00:08:26,720 --> 00:08:30,760 Do not speak excessively with women. 99 00:08:30,760 --> 00:08:35,440 For all women's conversations are lewdness. 100 00:08:35,440 --> 00:08:42,400 Thirdly, this particular woman, she had a thirst disorder. 101 00:08:42,400 --> 00:08:50,280 And this thirst disorder left her with a reputation of sorts of seeking after the wrong thing 102 00:08:50,280 --> 00:08:52,040 to quench her thirst. 103 00:08:52,040 --> 00:08:57,200 Hence the reason why she was at the public well in what was probably the most hottest 104 00:08:57,200 --> 00:08:59,400 time of the day. 105 00:08:59,400 --> 00:09:06,280 Fourthly, the Jews and the Samaritans were not allowed to use the same drinking vessels 106 00:09:06,280 --> 00:09:08,640 together. 107 00:09:08,640 --> 00:09:16,160 Now in Jesus's podcast, he exposes her thirst disorder and embarrassingly, the Samaritan 108 00:09:16,160 --> 00:09:24,520 sidesteps her conviction to talk about what perhaps is the two groups biggest disagreement. 109 00:09:24,520 --> 00:09:27,520 Which church is better? 110 00:09:27,520 --> 00:09:39,160 Is it the Samaritan church on Mount Gerizim or is it the Jews church in Jerusalem on Mount 111 00:09:39,160 --> 00:09:40,160 Zion? 112 00:09:40,160 --> 00:09:47,280 Now in verse 23, Jesus in typical Jesus form, he sidesteps her question to illustrate that 113 00:09:47,280 --> 00:09:49,960 it's not the church that matters. 114 00:09:49,960 --> 00:09:57,720 Rather, the hour is coming and is now here when the true worshipers will worship the 115 00:09:57,720 --> 00:10:01,620 Father in spirit and in truth. 116 00:10:01,620 --> 00:10:06,920 For the Father is seeking such people to worship him. 117 00:10:06,920 --> 00:10:09,560 What's the gardener's function? 118 00:10:09,560 --> 00:10:16,360 Seeking true worshipers who will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. 119 00:10:16,360 --> 00:10:22,440 The second principle is here, in the garden of Wheaton, it's the true worshipers that 120 00:10:22,440 --> 00:10:26,120 matter, not the type of church. 121 00:10:26,120 --> 00:10:29,960 We kind of heard that before in the beginning when Pastor Jim mentioned the contribution 122 00:10:29,960 --> 00:10:34,960 of all the cadets from the different churches that they came from. 123 00:10:34,960 --> 00:10:37,500 It's the true worshipers that matter. 124 00:10:37,500 --> 00:10:43,680 Now in verse 27, Jesus's disciples return and they immediately recognize the bad optics 125 00:10:43,680 --> 00:10:47,240 of Jesus's podcast with this Samaritan woman. 126 00:10:47,240 --> 00:10:54,080 Now instead of verbally objecting to Jesus's methods, John tells us that they marveled 127 00:10:54,080 --> 00:10:58,880 that he was talking with a woman. 128 00:10:58,880 --> 00:11:05,520 See Jesus's disciples, just like you and I, needed to see that this is gardening in the 129 00:11:05,520 --> 00:11:09,360 garden of Wheaton. 130 00:11:09,360 --> 00:11:16,520 Let's look at verse 31 to see the gardener's function in this new post-Eden environment. 131 00:11:16,520 --> 00:11:24,200 Now verse 31, Jesus's disciples recover from their Samaritan woman shock and they are urging 132 00:11:24,200 --> 00:11:27,000 Jesus to eat. 133 00:11:27,000 --> 00:11:31,280 Rabbi, eat. 134 00:11:31,280 --> 00:11:37,480 See they have a sense of urgency about Jesus eating so that he can regain his strength 135 00:11:37,480 --> 00:11:40,080 at this halfway point in this journey. 136 00:11:40,080 --> 00:11:45,500 Remember he's going from Judea to Galilee, Samaria is right smack dab in the middle. 137 00:11:45,500 --> 00:11:51,840 Now human beings, they are known for being in one of two categories. 138 00:11:51,840 --> 00:11:59,280 Those who eat to live and those who live to eat. 139 00:11:59,280 --> 00:12:04,640 Now our weight usually reveals what camp we're in. 140 00:12:04,640 --> 00:12:09,400 And I don't know about you, but I genuinely have a weight problem. 141 00:12:09,400 --> 00:12:11,400 I can't wait to eat. 142 00:12:11,400 --> 00:12:12,400 Yes. 143 00:12:12,400 --> 00:12:13,400 Yes. 144 00:12:13,400 --> 00:12:19,520 See eating is of fundamental importance to the human condition. 145 00:12:19,520 --> 00:12:28,280 In verse 34, Jesus uses the disciples sense of urgency that he eat to illustrate the sense 146 00:12:28,280 --> 00:12:34,480 of urgency he has in fulfilling the gardener's function. 147 00:12:34,480 --> 00:12:42,720 My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work. 148 00:12:42,720 --> 00:12:50,400 To the Christian, sharing the gospel is of fundamental importance for man shall not live 149 00:12:50,400 --> 00:12:57,520 by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord. 150 00:12:57,520 --> 00:13:01,400 Now these familiar words come from Moses. 151 00:13:01,400 --> 00:13:07,760 Notice what he said to the Israelites in Deuteronomy as they were getting ready to go into the 152 00:13:07,760 --> 00:13:09,080 promised land. 153 00:13:09,080 --> 00:13:15,320 And it's the same words that Jesus used as he was being tempted by the devil. 154 00:13:15,320 --> 00:13:21,920 See the word of God is to the Christian as food is to the human. 155 00:13:21,920 --> 00:13:29,160 More specifically, the gospel is to the Christian as food is to the human. 156 00:13:29,160 --> 00:13:37,400 For the gospel is the power of God unto salvation for all who will believe. 157 00:13:37,400 --> 00:13:43,640 Now if the gardener's function is to seek true worshipers, then the gospel must be the 158 00:13:43,640 --> 00:13:48,600 driving force by which he gets his reward. 159 00:13:48,600 --> 00:13:55,320 Oh, and God will get the reward for Christ's sufferings. 160 00:13:55,320 --> 00:14:00,840 Part of that reward is us sitting right now in this assembly. 161 00:14:00,840 --> 00:14:08,200 The third principle here is gardening in the Garden of Weedon requires a sense of urgency. 162 00:14:08,200 --> 00:14:17,520 In verses 35 to 38, Jesus leans more into the gardener's sense of urgency with the harvest 163 00:14:17,520 --> 00:14:19,640 analogy. 164 00:14:19,640 --> 00:14:24,800 Now the disciples, they would have been familiar with this harvest analogy. 165 00:14:24,800 --> 00:14:31,000 That's why Jesus says, do you not say that there are yet four months, then comes the 166 00:14:31,000 --> 00:14:32,000 harvest? 167 00:14:32,000 --> 00:14:36,840 You see the sense of urgency in the second half of verse 35. 168 00:14:36,840 --> 00:14:47,480 Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes and see that the fields are white for harvest. 169 00:14:47,480 --> 00:14:57,720 This time is a joyful time, especially for those of us with a weight problem. 170 00:14:57,720 --> 00:15:05,320 It's a time when one literally gets to see the fruit of their labor. 171 00:15:05,320 --> 00:15:12,720 One commentator stated that grain when ripe, it turns from a green to a yellow to a light 172 00:15:12,720 --> 00:15:17,960 color indicating that it's time to reap it. 173 00:15:17,960 --> 00:15:24,120 A white harvest indicated a ripe harvest. 174 00:15:24,120 --> 00:15:32,320 And when the sower sees that the harvest is ripe, then it's time for the sower to reap 175 00:15:32,320 --> 00:15:33,980 what they have sown. 176 00:15:33,980 --> 00:15:39,960 In the gardener's garden, there is no room for grim reapers. 177 00:15:39,960 --> 00:15:41,480 See what I did there again? 178 00:15:41,480 --> 00:15:44,720 You guys gotta keep up with me. 179 00:15:44,720 --> 00:15:49,160 In the gardener's garden, there is no room for grim reapers. 180 00:15:49,160 --> 00:15:52,840 See Jesus sowed the gospel to the Samaritan woman. 181 00:15:52,840 --> 00:15:58,560 The gospel to her was the assurance that she would ultimately find what she looked for 182 00:15:58,560 --> 00:16:08,600 in Jesus and not in another illegitimate relationship with a man. 183 00:16:08,600 --> 00:16:17,560 The woman's joy was seen in her sense of urgency to share the gospel in verse 28 when she left 184 00:16:17,560 --> 00:16:23,280 her water jar at the well and went away into the town and said to the people, come and 185 00:16:23,280 --> 00:16:28,080 see a man who has told me all that I've ever did. 186 00:16:28,080 --> 00:16:31,400 Can this be the Christ? 187 00:16:31,400 --> 00:16:37,840 See Jesus knew the Samaritan woman's joyful testimony was set to harvest in motion, so 188 00:16:37,840 --> 00:16:42,800 Jesus prepared his disciples to get to reaping. 189 00:16:42,800 --> 00:16:51,880 The fourth principle here is gardening in the garden of Wheaton requires joy. 190 00:16:51,880 --> 00:16:58,760 Now verses 37 and 38, Jesus then reminded his disciples that they weren't laboring 191 00:16:58,760 --> 00:17:01,400 in a vacuum. 192 00:17:01,400 --> 00:17:08,200 They were laboring along those who came before them, kind of like Pastor Jim said with the 193 00:17:08,200 --> 00:17:12,280 cadets and all the former cadets that stood up. 194 00:17:12,280 --> 00:17:18,360 These little kids, these little boys are standing on their shoulders and that's what we're doing 195 00:17:18,360 --> 00:17:20,400 as Christians. 196 00:17:20,400 --> 00:17:25,640 See the gardener's function requires a collaborative effort. 197 00:17:25,640 --> 00:17:32,080 In the parable of the vineyard owner, Jesus mentions all the prophets that God sent to 198 00:17:32,080 --> 00:17:36,840 the Israelites to bring back the fruit of Israel. 199 00:17:36,840 --> 00:17:38,360 That's God's vineyard. 200 00:17:38,360 --> 00:17:43,720 Now the tenants who were supposed to be working the vineyard, they were supposed to be working 201 00:17:43,720 --> 00:17:49,640 and producing the fruit, but they dealt harshly with the ones that God had sent and they even 202 00:17:49,640 --> 00:17:53,560 killed the owner's son. 203 00:17:53,560 --> 00:17:59,720 See those Old Testament prophets that God sent, it broke the ground to create the conditions 204 00:17:59,720 --> 00:18:08,120 needed for the seed of the gospel to penetrate and to bear fruit. 205 00:18:08,120 --> 00:18:13,280 John the Baptist says, prepare ye the way of the Lord declaration along with the other 206 00:18:13,280 --> 00:18:16,160 prophets messages that came before him. 207 00:18:16,160 --> 00:18:24,000 That was that industrial gray tiller that broke up the rocky soil of the hearts and 208 00:18:24,000 --> 00:18:31,120 minds of those who would receive the gospel and respond with joy. 209 00:18:31,120 --> 00:18:36,880 So you can never discount the effect that another Christian's faithful gospel witness 210 00:18:36,880 --> 00:18:45,000 has had on a particular person or area before you came on the scene. 211 00:18:45,000 --> 00:18:54,520 See, what looks to you as a hopeless situation could be a ripe harvest in God's eyes. 212 00:18:54,520 --> 00:19:01,840 My wife is a fourth and fifth grade school teacher in Chicago Heights at a low income 213 00:19:01,840 --> 00:19:08,800 school and she tells me all the stories about these kids' families and their backgrounds 214 00:19:08,800 --> 00:19:15,080 and their disadvantages and their poverty and the bad things that's happened to them 215 00:19:15,080 --> 00:19:20,800 at such a young age that most people don't even experience at all in their lifetime. 216 00:19:20,800 --> 00:19:24,360 But you know what, I have to look at her and say, you know what, you have to be the light 217 00:19:24,360 --> 00:19:26,740 in that environment. 218 00:19:26,740 --> 00:19:28,440 You never know. 219 00:19:28,440 --> 00:19:33,080 There may be a ripe harvest within your midst. 220 00:19:33,080 --> 00:19:38,400 Some of us need to realize that when we go to our jobs tomorrow, you're the light, you're 221 00:19:38,400 --> 00:19:49,480 the salt, and the harvest may be ripe where you are. 222 00:19:49,480 --> 00:19:58,920 The fifth principle is that gardening in the Garden of Wheaton is a collaborative effort. 223 00:19:58,920 --> 00:20:06,280 It is through this collaborative effort that we recognize not only our dependence on Christ, 224 00:20:06,280 --> 00:20:09,640 but our dependence on each other. 225 00:20:09,640 --> 00:20:15,480 Well how did the harvest that Jesus was speaking of, how did it manifest itself? 226 00:20:15,480 --> 00:20:17,880 It manifested itself in the gardener's fruit. 227 00:20:17,880 --> 00:20:20,000 And that's my second and final point. 228 00:20:20,000 --> 00:20:24,440 See, I figured if I gave you two points, you would think it would be a short sermon, but 229 00:20:24,440 --> 00:20:29,100 I built in seven principles to trick you into it being a long sermon. 230 00:20:29,100 --> 00:20:34,440 And it's not my fault, it's your pastor's fault for giving me seven chapters to preach. 231 00:20:34,440 --> 00:20:35,440 That's okay. 232 00:20:35,440 --> 00:20:37,480 We're gonna work through this. 233 00:20:37,480 --> 00:20:44,200 Now the gardener's fruit, they are those who have ears to hear the gospel, they gladly 234 00:20:44,200 --> 00:20:51,240 receive it, and they live lives of gratitude in light of what Christ has done for them. 235 00:20:51,240 --> 00:20:57,800 The gardener's fruit are those who worship the Father and Spirit and in truth. 236 00:20:57,800 --> 00:21:02,960 Oh, and the gardener's harvest, it's glorious. 237 00:21:02,960 --> 00:21:03,960 It's glorious. 238 00:21:03,960 --> 00:21:13,080 It'll consist of a manifold variety of Jews and Gentiles, people from all nations, tribes, 239 00:21:13,080 --> 00:21:16,520 peoples and languages. 240 00:21:16,520 --> 00:21:21,080 The gardener's fruit is the true rainbow coalition. 241 00:21:21,080 --> 00:21:23,880 Those people don't know. 242 00:21:23,880 --> 00:21:24,880 Thank you. 243 00:21:24,880 --> 00:21:25,880 Okay. 244 00:21:25,880 --> 00:21:28,400 All right, I told you you gotta keep up with me. 245 00:21:28,400 --> 00:21:35,720 In verse 39, we have a history lesson of the first Samaritans. 246 00:21:35,720 --> 00:21:44,080 This is the first semi-Gentile group to bear fruit under Jesus's ministry, and it's all 247 00:21:44,080 --> 00:21:48,880 because of that Samaritan woman's testimony. 248 00:21:48,880 --> 00:21:54,840 Many Samaritans from that town believed in Jesus because of the woman's testimony. 249 00:21:54,840 --> 00:22:02,280 Now see, this is extraordinary, especially considering a woman's testimony was not considered 250 00:22:02,280 --> 00:22:11,200 credible, not to mention the deplorable customs and ways in which women were treated. 251 00:22:11,200 --> 00:22:18,520 Nevertheless, in verses 40 to 42, John tells us that the woman's joyful testimony was the 252 00:22:18,520 --> 00:22:25,840 bridge that encouraged many other Samaritans to receive Jesus in their own town. 253 00:22:25,840 --> 00:22:34,360 What caused this woman to testify about her podcast encounter with Jesus? 254 00:22:34,360 --> 00:22:42,640 First, she had an encounter with Jesus. 255 00:22:42,640 --> 00:22:49,680 Then her Jesus encounter gave her boldness. 256 00:22:49,680 --> 00:22:57,160 Then she truthfully testified to her encounter with Jesus to her other Samaritan folk. 257 00:22:57,160 --> 00:23:04,200 Now in this case, if any of those elements were missing, the woman's testimonial impact 258 00:23:04,200 --> 00:23:11,220 may have been lessened, but her faithful witness caused the other Samaritans to at least give 259 00:23:11,220 --> 00:23:15,680 Jesus an audience. 260 00:23:15,680 --> 00:23:21,880 Now after the other Samaritans witnessed firsthand what Jesus had to say to them, they too believed 261 00:23:21,880 --> 00:23:25,520 that Jesus was indeed the savior of the world. 262 00:23:25,520 --> 00:23:31,240 The sixth principle here is that gardening in the Garden of Wheaton takes an encounter 263 00:23:31,240 --> 00:23:38,160 with Jesus and the faithful testimony of only one person. 264 00:23:38,160 --> 00:23:45,120 Now on the Jewish front, the Samaritans, they were the Gentile fruit. 265 00:23:45,120 --> 00:23:47,320 This is the Jewish fruit. 266 00:23:47,320 --> 00:23:54,240 So on the Jewish front in verse 43, Jesus is likewise received well by the Galileans, 267 00:23:54,240 --> 00:24:00,080 but because of having seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the feast. 268 00:24:00,080 --> 00:24:05,000 See Jesus's wonderful deeds at the Canaan wedding, remember when he turned the water 269 00:24:05,000 --> 00:24:06,000 into wine. 270 00:24:06,000 --> 00:24:09,960 At the Canaan wedding, so that manifested his glory. 271 00:24:09,960 --> 00:24:16,200 It caused his disciples to believe in him and when word spread, it caused the Galileans 272 00:24:16,200 --> 00:24:20,280 to welcome him warmly. 273 00:24:20,280 --> 00:24:23,200 I felt that same warm welcome when I came in here. 274 00:24:23,200 --> 00:24:25,640 I shook about 37 hands. 275 00:24:25,640 --> 00:24:30,200 The worship leader told me to kick the devil in the throat. 276 00:24:30,200 --> 00:24:31,200 It's been great. 277 00:24:31,200 --> 00:24:33,520 My time here has been wonderful. 278 00:24:33,520 --> 00:24:39,560 See this was not the case in Jesus's own hometown of Nazareth. 279 00:24:39,560 --> 00:24:53,080 See there Jesus's gospel witness caused the Nazarenes to want to throw him off of a cliff. 280 00:24:53,080 --> 00:24:59,940 For the Samaritans, it was Jesus's clairvoyance that led him to believe that he was the Messiah. 281 00:24:59,940 --> 00:25:07,520 For the Jews, it was the signs that he did that led them to believe that he was the Messiah. 282 00:25:07,520 --> 00:25:15,660 But either way, Jesus was a man who was motivated to eat, to fulfill his father's will. 283 00:25:15,660 --> 00:25:23,840 The seventh principle here is in the garden of Weeden, your deeds follow you and determine 284 00:25:23,840 --> 00:25:26,920 how others will receive you. 285 00:25:26,920 --> 00:25:30,280 Now this brings me to the centrality of Jesus. 286 00:25:30,280 --> 00:25:36,040 See Jesus, the Christ, is God, the gardener's son. 287 00:25:36,040 --> 00:25:40,560 Now Jesus as the only begotten son of God, you guys did this one before, Jesus as the 288 00:25:40,560 --> 00:25:45,520 only begotten son of God, he is one essence with the Father. 289 00:25:45,520 --> 00:25:51,280 Meaning he is so intimately intertwined and in tune with the gardener that the gardener's 290 00:25:51,280 --> 00:25:56,760 will is also Jesus's will. 291 00:25:56,760 --> 00:25:59,960 Thank God for that. 292 00:25:59,960 --> 00:26:06,640 See Jesus is fixated on bearing witness to God's truth and seeking out and saving the 293 00:26:06,640 --> 00:26:13,720 true worshipers that the Father elected from before the foundations of the world who will 294 00:26:13,720 --> 00:26:21,000 worship the Father in spirit and in truth. 295 00:26:21,000 --> 00:26:22,960 Well what is God's truth? 296 00:26:22,960 --> 00:26:28,000 It was right there in John 3 verses 17 and 18. 297 00:26:28,000 --> 00:26:33,600 For God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the 298 00:26:33,600 --> 00:26:36,600 world might be saved through him. 299 00:26:36,600 --> 00:26:41,640 The believing ones are not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already 300 00:26:41,640 --> 00:26:48,200 because he has not believed in the name of the only son of God. 301 00:26:48,200 --> 00:26:50,800 That's God's truth. 302 00:26:50,800 --> 00:26:56,480 And theologians they call Jesus's fixation on fulfilling his Father's will, they call 303 00:26:56,480 --> 00:27:00,000 that his active obedience. 304 00:27:00,000 --> 00:27:06,080 See that's Jesus willingly going where the Father tells him to go, saying what the Father 305 00:27:06,080 --> 00:27:11,640 tells him to say, and doing what the Father tells him to do. 306 00:27:11,640 --> 00:27:17,800 That is something that none of us in here can do or is willing to do. 307 00:27:17,800 --> 00:27:21,000 Thank God for Jesus. 308 00:27:21,000 --> 00:27:29,680 Now see when Jesus is actively obedient on our behalf according to his Father's will, 309 00:27:29,680 --> 00:27:33,520 God receives glory in Jesus's works. 310 00:27:33,520 --> 00:27:39,240 In exchange Jesus receives joy in fulfilling the Father's will. 311 00:27:39,240 --> 00:27:52,920 This brings me to us, us glory robin, glib egomaniac gardeners, whose glory is our shame 312 00:27:52,920 --> 00:28:01,320 and our God is our own sinful appetites down here in the garden of wheat. 313 00:28:01,320 --> 00:28:04,240 How are you representing the gardener? 314 00:28:04,240 --> 00:28:12,120 I'll tell you how we're doing by going through those seven principles that I mentioned earlier. 315 00:28:12,120 --> 00:28:16,000 And after being up here now I wish I had seven more. 316 00:28:16,000 --> 00:28:17,560 Do I have enough time? 317 00:28:17,560 --> 00:28:18,560 No? 318 00:28:18,560 --> 00:28:19,560 Okay. 319 00:28:19,560 --> 00:28:20,560 All right. 320 00:28:20,560 --> 00:28:26,280 Well, see the first principle of gardening was endangering your reputation for the gospel's 321 00:28:26,280 --> 00:28:29,120 sake. 322 00:28:29,120 --> 00:28:31,480 How are you doing with that? 323 00:28:31,480 --> 00:28:38,240 See in our family devotions, my wife and I are always harping on our children to be salt 324 00:28:38,240 --> 00:28:40,560 and light in your public schools. 325 00:28:40,560 --> 00:28:45,920 But when my oldest son comes to me after Calvinist cadets and he says that he wants to hand out 326 00:28:45,920 --> 00:28:55,640 tracks for his Valentine's Day gifts, my first thought was, uh oh, I wonder what the other 327 00:28:55,640 --> 00:28:59,860 kids will say about him. 328 00:28:59,860 --> 00:29:07,880 In that split second, I was concerned more about my kid's reputation than my son fulfilling 329 00:29:07,880 --> 00:29:14,800 the gardener's function of seeking the true worshipers who will worship the father in 330 00:29:14,800 --> 00:29:19,880 spirit and in truth. 331 00:29:19,880 --> 00:29:23,720 I know what kids my age said. 332 00:29:23,720 --> 00:29:26,820 I remember how cruel they were. 333 00:29:26,820 --> 00:29:32,560 But if I were to tell my son, no, don't hand out the tracks, now I will have effectively 334 00:29:32,560 --> 00:29:36,000 been speaking to him out of both sides of my mouth. 335 00:29:36,000 --> 00:29:39,440 And what kind of confusion is that for a kid? 336 00:29:39,440 --> 00:29:40,440 Share the gospel. 337 00:29:40,440 --> 00:29:41,440 Don't send the tracks. 338 00:29:41,440 --> 00:29:42,440 Share the gospel. 339 00:29:42,440 --> 00:29:44,440 Don't send the tracks. 340 00:29:44,440 --> 00:29:52,180 How many times have you been in crucial situations in which you've had the opportunity to speak 341 00:29:52,180 --> 00:30:00,440 to that coworker, that family member, your friend, your spouse, or your significant other, 342 00:30:00,440 --> 00:30:08,800 but you held back because you were concerned about your reputation? 343 00:30:08,800 --> 00:30:14,720 The second principle of gardening was that it's the true worshiper that matters, not 344 00:30:14,720 --> 00:30:16,520 the type of church. 345 00:30:16,520 --> 00:30:24,600 How many of you have emphasized faith in Christ over church favoritism? 346 00:30:24,600 --> 00:30:30,880 How many of us have attended church all our lives and grown so used to seeing the same 347 00:30:30,880 --> 00:30:36,000 people and you're comfortable with them that when new people come into the church that 348 00:30:36,000 --> 00:30:43,080 don't look like the ones you're comfortable with, you have a problem with that? 349 00:30:43,080 --> 00:30:48,440 Have you ever not shared the gospel with somebody because they don't look like you? 350 00:30:48,440 --> 00:30:55,000 Are you opposed to sharing the gospel with people who don't look like you? 351 00:30:55,000 --> 00:31:01,040 Does your local church idea, does that eclipse the universal church? 352 00:31:01,040 --> 00:31:06,640 You know, the universal church is believers from all times, everywhere. 353 00:31:06,640 --> 00:31:13,720 See, the third principle of gardening was having a sense of urgency. 354 00:31:13,720 --> 00:31:19,640 Do you have a sense of urgency when fulfilling the gardener's function or have you been coasting 355 00:31:19,640 --> 00:31:30,840 along all these years because you know that your ticket to heaven has been stamped? 356 00:31:30,840 --> 00:31:34,160 The fourth principle of gardening was joy. 357 00:31:34,160 --> 00:31:41,560 Are you a joyful sower and weeper or are you a grim sower and weeper? 358 00:31:41,560 --> 00:31:42,560 Reaper. 359 00:31:42,560 --> 00:31:50,080 Well, if you're grim, you're a weeper too, so I mean, of course, like, come on. 360 00:31:50,080 --> 00:31:55,940 Did you know that your joy in the Lord is directly linked with your submission to his 361 00:31:55,940 --> 00:32:03,000 will and the rewards that come from the guaranteed fruit that you help bring in? 362 00:32:03,000 --> 00:32:07,440 When you share the gospel with somebody, it is guaranteed that if they are the father's 363 00:32:07,440 --> 00:32:10,560 elect, they will believe. 364 00:32:10,560 --> 00:32:18,040 And that is the joy that frees you at that moment when you feel clamped by all the regulations 365 00:32:18,040 --> 00:32:23,600 and rules of this world to hold in the fact that you believe in Jesus. 366 00:32:23,600 --> 00:32:29,520 It's liberating. 367 00:32:29,520 --> 00:32:36,280 Are you more motivated by the temporal rewards that you receive at work, school, and play 368 00:32:36,280 --> 00:32:42,880 over the eternal crown of life that goes to those whose soul win? 369 00:32:42,880 --> 00:32:47,320 And when you receive that eternal crown of life, you know what you're going to do with 370 00:32:47,320 --> 00:32:48,320 it in heaven? 371 00:32:48,320 --> 00:32:57,240 You're going to lay it at the master's feet. 372 00:32:57,240 --> 00:33:03,000 The fifth principle of gardening was that it's a collaborative effort. 373 00:33:03,000 --> 00:33:06,920 Are you burned out because you've been going at Christianity all alone? 374 00:33:06,920 --> 00:33:10,360 I know I feel like that sometimes. 375 00:33:10,360 --> 00:33:13,040 Lord, there's only me. 376 00:33:13,040 --> 00:33:15,640 There's only me. 377 00:33:15,640 --> 00:33:20,200 I have reserved for myself 7,000 who have not bowed the knee to bail. 378 00:33:20,200 --> 00:33:25,040 It is not only you. 379 00:33:25,040 --> 00:33:30,080 Are you isolating yourself because you're afraid of church hurt? 380 00:33:30,080 --> 00:33:34,520 Now, see, church hurt is a legitimate thing. 381 00:33:34,520 --> 00:33:36,560 I don't want to downplay it. 382 00:33:36,560 --> 00:33:41,520 It's real and it affects us all at some point in our lives, especially for the ones who 383 00:33:41,520 --> 00:33:44,840 take the gospel seriously. 384 00:33:44,840 --> 00:33:50,720 But isolating yourself because of church hurt is unbiblical because Christians are communal 385 00:33:50,720 --> 00:33:52,320 people. 386 00:33:52,320 --> 00:33:59,320 God has called us to come together in the assembly. 387 00:33:59,320 --> 00:34:05,520 If you are a communal people and your brothers and sisters are the actual lifeblood that 388 00:34:05,520 --> 00:34:13,780 Christ has designed for his church, then it must be true that Christians who isolate die. 389 00:34:13,780 --> 00:34:15,440 We die in isolation. 390 00:34:15,440 --> 00:34:19,600 Are you too prideful to ask for help? 391 00:34:19,600 --> 00:34:26,520 Do you attend Sunday school to be educated on the primary principles of the faith? 392 00:34:26,520 --> 00:34:30,640 You know, the ones that help you overcome those age old rebuttals and objections that 393 00:34:30,640 --> 00:34:35,200 people of all ages have had in response to the gospel? 394 00:34:35,200 --> 00:34:38,480 That's what Sunday school is supposed to do. 395 00:34:38,480 --> 00:34:42,760 Sunday school is to make you acclimated with the rejections that you will receive in the 396 00:34:42,760 --> 00:34:47,360 world, kind of like a door-to-door salesman has rebuttals for when you're going to say 397 00:34:47,360 --> 00:34:48,360 no. 398 00:34:48,360 --> 00:34:49,880 Well, did you know that no? 399 00:34:49,880 --> 00:34:50,880 Okay. 400 00:34:50,880 --> 00:34:52,760 Well, did you know that no? 401 00:34:52,760 --> 00:35:01,200 See, the sixth principle of gardening was having an encounter to Jesus and faithfully 402 00:35:01,200 --> 00:35:03,920 testifying to that encounter. 403 00:35:03,920 --> 00:35:12,920 Have you had an encounter with Jesus? 404 00:35:12,920 --> 00:35:15,080 Or are you just playing church? 405 00:35:15,080 --> 00:35:20,440 Are you faking it till one day you hope you make it? 406 00:35:20,440 --> 00:35:25,160 See, sometimes believers can spot a phony. 407 00:35:25,160 --> 00:35:29,320 Sometimes they can't, but no one is fooling God. 408 00:35:29,320 --> 00:35:32,120 Phony believers do not be deceived. 409 00:35:32,120 --> 00:35:33,760 God is not mocked. 410 00:35:33,760 --> 00:35:40,080 Whatsoever one sows that he shall also reap for the one who sows to his flesh. 411 00:35:40,080 --> 00:35:42,520 I would insert the phony believer in there. 412 00:35:42,520 --> 00:35:47,920 The one who sows to their flesh will reap from the flesh corruption, but the one who 413 00:35:47,920 --> 00:35:54,640 sows to the spirit will reap from the spirit eternal life. 414 00:35:54,640 --> 00:35:59,200 The seventh principle of gardening was your deeds follow you and determine how others 415 00:35:59,200 --> 00:36:00,200 will receive you. 416 00:36:00,200 --> 00:36:07,760 Now, with this principle, it's almost impossible to control and determine how others will receive 417 00:36:07,760 --> 00:36:10,440 your faithful witness. 418 00:36:10,440 --> 00:36:19,040 But it is possible to control what it is that you do in the midst of others. 419 00:36:19,040 --> 00:36:25,360 Do you have an accountability partner or someone who loves Jesus as much, if not more than 420 00:36:25,360 --> 00:36:32,040 you, and they're speaking into your life about your actions? 421 00:36:32,040 --> 00:36:36,720 Or are you too prideful to have someone else tell you when you're wrong? 422 00:36:36,720 --> 00:36:41,600 See the purpose about us being in community and having each other's backs is that we all 423 00:36:41,600 --> 00:36:44,600 have blind spots. 424 00:36:44,600 --> 00:36:46,520 I can see what you can't see. 425 00:36:46,520 --> 00:36:52,520 You can see what I can't see. 426 00:36:52,520 --> 00:37:01,720 Are you a rogue Christian who appreciates gossip and shock value more than making it your goal 427 00:37:01,720 --> 00:37:10,440 to live a quiet life, minding your own business and working with your hands? 428 00:37:10,440 --> 00:37:14,840 See these principles are all things that we struggle with here in the flesh and we would 429 00:37:14,840 --> 00:37:23,200 be sunk were it not for the example of the person and work of Jesus Christ and his indwelling 430 00:37:23,200 --> 00:37:26,640 spirit in our lives. 431 00:37:26,640 --> 00:37:35,840 Christian, if you have the Holy Spirit indwelling you, then keep your hand to the plow. 432 00:37:35,840 --> 00:37:40,320 Keep your hand to the plow. 433 00:37:40,320 --> 00:37:46,360 The gardener sees you and he's going to come alongside you and he's going to take your 434 00:37:46,360 --> 00:37:57,360 burdens and he's going to give you his joy and he's going to make your gardening light. 435 00:37:57,360 --> 00:38:08,520 Look I tell you, lift up your eyes and see that the fields are white for harvest. 436 00:38:08,520 --> 00:38:17,560 Unbeliever, the gardener sees you too, but not in the same light as the Christian. 437 00:38:17,560 --> 00:38:23,280 You are under the wrath of God and in need of the saving work of Jesus Christ on your 438 00:38:23,280 --> 00:38:25,280 behalf. 439 00:38:25,280 --> 00:38:32,680 Turn from your wicked ways and believe the gospel and may God give you the eyes to not 440 00:38:32,680 --> 00:38:41,900 only see the harvest, but the coming judgment day when Jesus and his angels will separate 441 00:38:41,900 --> 00:38:44,400 the wheat from the chaff. 442 00:38:44,400 --> 00:39:04,800 That's the phony from the genuine.